| Friday, September 13, 2013 |
| Starkville community holds roundtable at Mississippi State | |
 | A Thursday roundtable meeting was basically a luncheon gathering where officials from Mississippi State and local leaders shared their thoughts and views about the continued growth of both entities. There was plenty of good news here starting with Mississippi State, where President Mark Keenum touted the largest freshman class ever. "Our university is growing and that's something that we're excited about. And when you bring more students to our campus and they're involved in commerce of the community. We also welcomed 70 new faculty members coming here to live and work at Mississippi State," said Keenum. The city of Starkville is of course a huge beneficiary of what is happening as well. |
| Campus radio station 91.1 approaches 20th anniversary | |
 | Nearly 20 years ago, 91.1 FM WMSV became Mississippi State University's campus radio station. Since its genesis, the station has provided the community with, as it claims, "world-class programming." MSU students operate the station under the command of Steve Ellis, general manager, who said he encourages his DJs to consider their job at 91.1 a slot at a commercial station. "Even though it's mostly students, we run this like a professional station," Ellis said. WMSV plans to commemorate its 20th anniversary with two concerts in February and March. As the station approaches this milestone in its history, WMSV looks ahead to the future for ways to provide MSU students with opportunities to learn the ropes of DJing and provide MSU, Starkville and north Mississippi with its world-class radio. |
| 'Scoping deer: Lab looking to boost public awareness | |
 | For decades now, the Deer Ecology and Management Lab at Mississippi State University has been conducting cutting-edge research into the understanding of whitetail deer and what they require to grow and prosper. The work is well-known among biologists and researchers, but outside of academia the lab's work is generally unknown. However, the Deer Lab's tag as one of Mississippi State's best-kept secrets is under siege. The lab, a unit of Mississippi State's Forest and Wildlife Research Center, has recently launched a new website (www.msudeerlab.com) in an attempt by those who have deer under the microscope to feed information to those who routinely see deer through a rifle scope. "We just launched the new website," said Dr. Bronson Strickland, an associate Mississippi State University Extension Service professor and researcher in the university's Forest and Wildlife Research Center. "What we are attempting to do is get information out of the lab and into people's hands so they can use it to formulate good deer-management practices and decisions." |
| Trophy season? Deer herd looking good for upcoming season | |
| According to the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, the state's whitetail deer herd is smaller than it was last year as hunters prepared to take the field. And, that is a good thing. While the herd is smaller, the deer are larger. A new study completed by Mississippi State University's Deer Lab has further boosted optimism that this could be a record year for whitetail deer hunters. Mississippi's large agriculture base is key. "Antler size is known to be highly correlated with body size," said Dr. Steve Demarais, who is also a Dale H. Arner professor of wildlife ecology in the Forest and Wildlife Research Center. "However, our research further proves that agricultural areas with rich soil provide more food for deer, leading to deer with larger bodies, independent of their latitude." |
| Drought worsens in Midwest, South; crops taking a hit | |
 | The combination of heat and scarce amounts of rain intensified the drought in several agriculturally significant states, contributing to declining crop conditions in parts of the Midwest and South. The weekly drought monitor indicated west-central Mississippi was in "severe drought" conditions from a lack of rain and high temperatures two to six degrees above normal. The southern half of the state was in drought-neutral condition. The remainder of Mississippi fared no worse than "abnormally dry," according to the monitor. The conditions mean soybeans likely will see merely an average yield, at 42 bushels per acre, according to the Mississippi State University Extension Service. Corn, meanwhile, is projected to see a record yield of 170 bushels per acre, and cotton is expected to tally 1,009 pounds per acre, "not a record, but on the high end," says John Michael Riley, an agricultural economist with the MSU Extension Service. |
| Weed escapes in sweet potatoes can be challenging | |
 | Weed escapes can be "exceptionally difficult" in sweet potato production due to the lack of registered herbicides for postemergence control of broadleaf weeds, says Steve Meyers, Mississippi State University Extension regional sweet potato specialist. There are a number of reasons weeds can make it through herbicide applications, he said at the sweet potato field day held at the Pontotoc Ridge/Flatlands Experiment Station at Algoma, Miss., where producers had an opportunity see demonstration plots of various herbicides and herbicide combinations. Growers should keep these facts in mind when planning for the 2014 growing season, Meyers says. |
| Mississippi State honors employee for 60 years of service | |
 | Henry Isaac has spent 60 of his 74 years working for Mississippi State University. Thursday, the Mississippi State dining program honored Isaac for his 60 years of service to the school. Isaac, who is simply known as "Mr. Henry," was surrounded by family and friends honor the occasion. Isaac started as a dish washer at Perry Cafeteria in 1953, and later became a cook. Isaac said he came from a cooking family, so he began to cook, too. |
| C-CERT offers free emergency preparedness training session | |
| The Mississippi State University Campus-Community Emergency Response Team and the Maroon Volunteer Center will conjoin to offer training opportunities during Emergency Preparedness Week Sept. 16-21. Training sessions are free and open to MSU students, faculty, staff and Starkville and Oktibbeha County residents. Meggan Franks, assistant director at Mississippi State University Office of Student Leadership & Community Engagement and a member of C-CERT, said training is conducted by experts in disaster preparedness and agency representatives. Last year, 130 people were trained. Ryan Akers, assistant extension professor of crisis preparation and disaster management, said Emergency Preparedness Week and P.R.E.P Workshop are part of MSU C-CERT's outreach mission and are offered free of charge to the university community and citizens of Starkville and Oktibbeha County. |
| Tragedy: A Marketing Plan | |
| One of the more crass uses of memorializing the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks emerged recently in the newspaper biz. Jim Romensko's blog (http://jimromenesko.com) points out that the Starkville Daily News is running a $9.11 subscription special. "Who thought this was a good marketing promotion?" asks David Garraway, a Mississippi State University employee via Twitter. Good question. Romenesko writes: "Daily News publisher Don Norman was out for lunch when I called for comment. (Update: I've called him three times now.)" |
| Brittany Bell joins WAPT-16 weather team | |
| 16 WAPT in Jackson has added meteorologist Brittany Bell as the station's weekend evening weather expert. Bell, a Mississippi State University alumna who graduated in three years with a 4.0 GPA, joins 16 WAPT from sister station KHBS/KHOG in Ft. Smith/Rogers, Ark. |
| John Kosko of Southern Bone and Joint Specialists earns certification | |
| John H. Kosko, M.D. of Southern Bone and Joint Specialists, P.A., a fellowship-trained orthopaedic foot and ankle surgeon, was awarded board certification by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery. Kosko, a Greenwood native, graduated summa cum laude in biological engineering from Mississippi State University. |
| From the boardroom to the classroom | |
 | Trading in your briefcase and fancy business lunches for chalkboard erasers and lunch lady sloppy joes can't be easy. However, for a whole group of new, non-traditional teachers in the state of Mississippi that is exactly what has happened in the past few weeks. According to data provided by the Mississippi Department of Education, in the 2012-2013 school year approximately 1,500 people were enrolled in some kind of alternate route licensure program. Tiffany Hudnall gave up a more lucrative career in computer software design to make sure that seventh graders could learn to read and write more proficiently. In order to make her teaching dream come true Hudnall turned to Mississippi State University-Meridian and a unique scholarship program that helped her not only become a licensed teacher, but also helped ease the financial burdens associated with going back to school. The Learning and Educating through Alternative Programs (LEAP) scholarship was specifically designed for professionals like Hudnall, who wanted to enter the teaching profession. |
| GRE Prep Workshop Offered at MSU-Meridian | |
 | MSU-Meridian is hosting a workshop to help prepare students for the Graduate Record Examination, known as the GRE. The workshop will take place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 21 at MSU-Meridian's College Park campus. This workshop will help people with the three major parts of the exam and test-taking strategies. |
| 40% of schools rated A or B by Mississippi Department of Education | |
| Forty percent of Mississippi school districts earned a B rating or higher in the state's performance accountability system, data released Friday by the state Department of Education show. Ten percent of the state's 151 school districts are rated F for failing. Of those 15 districts, 11 are in Mississippi's Delta. A game-changer in the 2013 rankings is the department's use of graduation rates in determining a district's rating. This year, 18 districts, or 12 percent of districts, earned A status; just three merited that grade in 2012. |
| Report says all jobs promised at Gulfport port will take 20 years to create | |
 | The state port will be unable to meet job goals attached to almost $600 million in federal funding until 2035 -- 20 years later than promised, a state watchdog report concludes. The Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Committee report details how the Mississippi Development Authority, which is overseeing port restoration and expansion with the federal Katrina relief money, has lowered job projections over the course of the project, which began in 2008. Job creation is important because federal Community Development Block Grant funds the state is using for post-Katrina restoration and expansion at the port are tied to creation of 1,200 to 1,300 permanent, full-time jobs within three years of project completion. |
| Frank Lucas: 'Bigger ideas' needed on farm bill | |
 | House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas says more "outside the box" thinking will be needed to save a farm bill this fall and he is prepared to support "bigger ideas" to get the task done. "I may have to do a lot of things outside the box to get this final thing together, I will acknowledge that to you," Lucas told POLITICO of upcoming talks with the Senate. "This is going to be a hard, complicated conference." Lucas shied away from giving any specifics. But his comments -- in a short interview late Wednesday -- reflect the pressure on the agriculture community to take a bolder approach if a new farm bill is to be salvaged this year. |
| Bill to protect journalists clears Senate panel | |
 | Journalists and bloggers who report news to the public will be protected from being forced to testify about their work under a media shield bill passed by a Senate committee Thursday. But the new legal protections will not extend to the controversial online website Wikileaks and others whose principal work involves disclosing "primary-source documents ...without authorization." Senate sponsors of the bill and a coalition of media groups that support it hailed Thursday's bipartisan Senate Judiciary Committee vote as a breakthrough. |
| Fox News Channel ending Ole Miss alum Shepard Smith's nightly newscast | |
| Fox News Channel is eliminating one of Shepard Smith's two daily newscasts and putting him in charge of a breaking news team where he will travel more to stories and break into other Fox shows with special reports. His 7 p.m. Eastern newscast will end this fall, but Smith will continue anchoring a weekday 3 p.m. newscast. Fox Chairman Roger Ailes said the network is "no longer bound by a traditional evening format conceived in the 1960s." |
| MDOT recruits Southern Miss for port study | |
| The University of Southern Mississippi College of Business is part of a team the Mississippi Department of Transportation has assembled for its Statewide Port Needs and Marketing Study, which is being conducted over the next year to more fully leverage the economic development potential of the state's 16 public ports. The team is led by engineering firm Neel–Schaffer Inc., and in addition to Southern Miss, includes Cambridge Systematics Inc. and W.R. Coles & Associates. The university will be conducting economic development training as part of the study to ensure Mississippi port directors are able to implement the study recommendations. |
| JSU Hosts Summit Concerning Black Males and Education | |
 | During a lecture series at Jackson State University yesterday, a number of concerned citizens, students and educators discussed "The Outcomes of Black Males in Urban Institutions." Rodney Washington chairs the schools department of elementary and early education, and this school year he began a study to determine why black males are less than half as likely as to finish college than their white counterparts. |
| Jones County Junior College enrollment on rise | |
 | Unlike the national and state trends, enrollment is up at Jones County Junior College. The total enrollment for 2013 is 4,706. That's an increase of 170 students since last school year. "Our strategies are working, even when the national trends are in the negative," says JCJC President Dr. Jessie Smith. Some students are enrolling at JCJC based on a specific area of study. The engineering program at Jones has grown by 70 students in the past year. JCJC has a partnership with the engineering school at Mississippi State University, which puts students an extra step ahead of others. "We have an excellent relationship with them [MSU]," says JCJC professor Mary Boleware. "They recruit our students very heavily. Our students do very well when they transfer to State." |
| U. of Alabama on sorority discrimination allegations: 'Time to do the right thing' | |
 | The University of Alabama provided AL.com with a brief statement Thursday afternoon regarding reports that sorority alumnae and advisers, including a university employee, denied membership to at least one student because of her race. However, the university provided no specifics of any actions they may be taking, and a spokesperson said they have no plans to release any additional statements on the situation at this time. USA Today reported that the Pi Beta Phi national organization, the sorority that allegedly was threatened to lose funding by alumnae, is investigating The Crimson White's report, which broke the story reporting that while students at several sororities wanted to recruit a black student, alumnae and advisers overruled them. |
| Sorority Exposes Its Rejection of Black Candidate | |
 | On the campus of the University of Alabama, accusations that traditionally white sorority chapters had turned down an apparently impeccable candidate simply because she was black hardly came as a surprise. The surprise was that it was sorority members -- and not the candidate herself -- who made the allegations, saying that in some cases they were pressured by alumnae to turn her down. Gov. Robert Bentley, who earned his undergraduate degree at Alabama, referred to the controversy on Thursday, saying to a television news reporter that universities could put pressure on the Greek system to integrate. He said that his wife, also an Alabama graduate, blamed the alumnae. "Personally, I think they need to change their attitude," the governor said. The weakening grip of tradition at Alabama may be inevitable. In 2012, for the first time, more than half of the incoming freshmen were from out of state. |
| JOHN ARCHIBALD: White UA sororities to granddaughter of black UA trustee: We don't want you | John Archibald (Opinion) | |
| Birmingham News columnist John Archibald writes: "If you don't know the England family, you should. John England Jr. is a member of the University of Alabama Board of Trustees and former justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. He now serves as a Tuscaloosa County Circuit Judge. His sons are noteworthy, too. ...The Englands are -- and this is no stretch -- one of the most respected families in Alabama. I didn't say black families. Families. But it is still not good enough. ...Chris England's daughter -- step-daughter, really, but daughter in the heart -- went out for sorority rush at the University of Alabama this year and, despite beauty and brains, a gaudy grade point average, a glistening pedigree and support from white fellow students, was denied, pretty clearly, because she is black. If she can't break that barrier, who can?" |
| Fall enrollment at U. of Alabama sets record | |
 | The University of Alabama has again seen a record-breaking year for student enrollment with 34,852 students arriving on campus this fall, an increase of 3.7 percent from 2012. The enrollment figures released Thursday show an increase of 1,250 students from fall 2012. The student body this fall includes 29,443 undergraduates and 5,409 graduate and first professional students. The record enrollment this fall continues a trend of rapid growth at UA during the past decade. Boosting enrollment was among the 10-year strategic plan goals of UA System Chancellor Robert Witt, then president of UA, in 2003. At the time, Witt said he wanted UA's enrollment to be 28,000 by 2013. UA's administration also highlighted the academic talents of the student body. |
| U. of Kentucky seeks food vendor willing to spend millions on facilities | |
 | The University of Kentucky is accepting bids to operate its dining services, but bring some cash: The request for proposals released Thursday by UK requires any new vendor to spend $25 million to $50 million on new facilities. The vendor also would have to keep all current UK employees at their existing pay levels, and lay out a plan to expand UK's spending on local and Kentucky Proud products, which stands at nearly $1.8 million a year. "The decision has not yet been made to outsource," said Bill Harris, UK's purchasing director. "That decision cannot be made until we see what they offer ... we're using this RFP as a basis to decide whether to do the outsourcing." |
| U. of Kentucky gets $1 million rebate for energy savings program | |
| Kentucky Utilities Company presented the University of Kentucky with a $1 million check Thursday, a sizeable rebate for the school's campus-wide energy savings program. In 2009, UK hired the energy service company Ameresco of Louisville, which did an analysis of its energy usage. The school then started retrofitting 61 campus buildings with energy-efficient equipment, such as high-efficiency lighting, better air conditioning equipment and water conservation efforts. UK also started an online site that shows exactly how much energy is used by different spaces on campus. "These are ongoing savings due to our conservation program with KU," said Bob Wiseman, executive vice president for facilities management. |
| U. of Florida gets $1.7 million in performance funding | |
 | The University of Florida is getting $1.7 million for meeting several performance criteria, a bonus in addition to the millions it already has received for being the state's pre-eminent university and for developing the state's first fully online bachelor's degree program. The Legislature approved a $20 million performance funding pool, signed by Gov. Rick Scott, according to criteria set by the governor. "We worked with the Legislature to deliver a win for students and Florida universities," Gov. Rick Scott said in a news release. "Our goal for supporting students was to ensure they can find a job and pursue their dreams after school." |
| Timothy Hulsey named U. of Tennessee's Honors Provost | |
| On Wednesday, the University of Tennessee welcomed Timothy Hulsey, Ph.D, as the new associate provost of the Chancellor's Honors and Haslam Scholars programs. After 22 years working for various honors programs across the country, Hulsey is coming home, having completed his Ph.D in clinical psychology at UT. "It was time for new challenges," Hulsey said. "The quality of the undergraduate students here is phenomenal. When you look at the incoming students we are getting now, they are as good as anywhere in the country. So, there is a real upside here. The opportunities to take these students and give them a world class education are very exciting to me." |
| U. of Missouri System medical buildings to receive $54.1 million in upgrades | |
 | The Missouri Orthopaedic Institute and University Hospital got the green light for $54.1 million in upgrades Thursday at the University of Missouri System Board of Curators meeting. MU built the institute in 2010 and had originally planned for an $80 million building, but scaled it back to a $50 million project so that it could gauge use, said Harold Williamson Jr., executive vice chancellor for health affairs. The existing facility served 55,966 patients in 2012. By 2020, stakeholders expect the number to increase by 40.3 percent, to 93,600 patients. Because of its high use, UM System administrators said they thought renovations on the relatively new facility were justified. |
| New Leader of White House Initiative on HBCUs Comes With Controversial Past | |
 | George E. Cooper, a former president of South Carolina State University, has been chosen to lead the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges, the U.S. Department of Education announced on Thursday. His appointment as executive director comes several months after leaders and advocates of historically black colleges complained that they were "disappointed and dismayed" by the Obama administration's delay in filling the post, which has been vacant since late January, when John S. Wilson Jr. left to lead his alma mater, Morehouse College. The appointment also comes some 18 months after Mr. Cooper resigned after a tumultuous four years as president at South Carolina State, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family. |
| Recent overdoses lead some colleges to step up education efforts about a form of ecstasy | |
 | Many colleges are reaching out to students about the dangers of the illicit club drug "Molly" following a series of fatal overdoses, some involving students. While use of Molly, a more pure form of ecstasy, among college students isn't as common as use of alcohol or marijuana, the deaths have given the issue new urgency. MDMA is a stimulant that produces feelings of increased energy, euphoria and empathy and creates distortions in sensory and time perception. Symptoms of MDMA use include confusion, a racing pulse, muscle spasms and seizures. Molly is supposedly a purer form of ecstasy, but is often mixed with other drugs, compounding its negative effects, said Pat Ketcham, president of the board of directors at the American College Health Association board of directors. |
SPORTS
| Bulldogs must stop Tigers' run game | |
 | Gus Malzahn was the mastermind behind Gene Chizik's Auburn offense from 2009-11, which included a 2010 national championship with Cam Newton at quarterback. After a year at Arkansas State, Malzahn is back on the plains as head coach and has the Tigers off to a 2-0 start. "We're still building this thing at Auburn and we're a work in progress," Malzahn said. So far, Malzahn's offense has been centered around its run game. "The offense that we're going up against is one of the best in the country," said Mississippi State defensive coordinator Geoff Collins. |
| Swinarski will be eligible to play for MSU baseball team in 2014 | |
 | Joey Swinarski completed his mission last week when the NCAA Eligibility Center cleared him to play college baseball this spring. The mission, which the Mississippi State recruit said was all about "development as a player and a person," included graduating a year early from high school to be eligible for the 2014 college baseball season. "I felt like I'd reached my potential at a certain level in high school and needed to get to a college program as soon as possible to elevate my abilities as a player," Swinarski said in a phone interview Wednesday evening. "It was an idea my family and I came up with last year, and then we kept in contact with the MSU staff about it." |
| RICK CLEVELAND: Kent Hull represented what a lineman and person should be | |
 | Mississippi syndicated sports columnist Rick Cleveland writes: "Offensive linemen, vital to victory at any level, remain football's unsung heroes. They work as hard or harder than others. They hit and absorb hits on every play. Usually, the only time they are noticed is when a man in a striped shirt throws a flag for holding and calls out the offending lineman's number for all God's children to hear. The late Kent Hull, of Greenwood, Mississippi State and the Buffalo Bills, was the exception. Hull, a splendid center, was so smart, so honest and so glib, sports writers and sportscasters sought him regularly. Everyone wanted to know what Kent had to say." |
| Middle man in Mississippi State allegations may have violated state law | |
| Luther Davis, the middle man reported to have given former Mississippi State football stars flights, could face criminal prosecution in Mississippi. Yahoo! Sports reported Wednesday that text messages and financial records show Davis was a runner for NFL agents and financial advisers for former Mississippi State defensive tackle Fletcher Cox and wide receiver Chad Bumphis, along with Alabama offensive lineman D.J. Fluker, Tennessee quarterback Tyler Bray and defensive end Maurice Couch. Davis, the report says, provided Bumphis and Cox with a 2012 flight to Florida, valued at about $1,200. If true, the Mississippi secretary of state would consider Davis an agent -- and that could be an issue for the former Alabama defensive lineman. |
| Cox, Bumphis to cooperate with MSU's investigation into allegations of impermissible benefits | |
| Former Mississippi State defensive tackle Fletcher Cox and former wide receiver Chad Bumphis say they will cooperate with the university's internal investigation into allegations made by Yahoo! Sports that the pair accepted a purchased flight from a third party during their careers in Starkville, according to CBS Sports sources. |
| Take 5: Breaking down the report on former stars Cox, Bumphis | |
| Mississippi State officials are sorting through the Yahoo! Sports report that former Mississippi State stars Fletcher Cox, now in the NFL, and wide receiver Chad Bumphis accepted a flight to Florida while they were still attending the university. It's still early to know what exactly this means for a Mississippi State program still wobbling from recent NCAA sanctions. But questions are emerging. |
| Ex-player in Vanderbilt rape case Jaborian 'Tip' McKenzie playing for Alcorn State | |
 | One of four ex-Vanderbilt University football players accused in the rape of an unconscious woman has transferred to Mississippi and played Saturday for Alcorn State. Jaborian "Tip" McKenzie, 18, from Woodville, Miss., who is free on $50,000 bond on five counts of aggravated rape and two counts of sexual battery, played wide receiver and returner for Alcorn State on Saturday. Je'Kel Smith, director of sports information at the college, said the administration was aware of the charges against him when he transferred around the start of the semester. McKenzie was given the lowest bond of the four charged in the rape, leading to speculation that he was cooperating with police. The charges came after police say a 21-year-old woman was raped June 23 in a Vanderbilt dorm room. |
| Vanderbilt athlete arrested for alleged rape now playing for Alcorn State | |
| Under National Collegiate Athletic Association rules, most football or men's basketball players competing in a Division I program may transfer at will, but must sit out the first season at the new institution, while they "adjust to their new school and ensure that their transfer was motivated by academics as well as athletics." Jaborian "Tip" McKenzie would normally be exempt from this rule because he transferred from a Football Bowl Subdivision program -- Vanderbilt University -- to one in the smaller Football Championship Subdivision, Alcorn State University. He ran for 80 yards on three kickoff returns in the team's 7-51 loss against Mississippi State University. However, it's unclear -- on many levels, experts say -- why McKenzie was allowed to take the field for Alcorn State on Saturday: another NCAA bylaw states that any student who transfers while disqualified or suspended from his previous institution for disciplinary reasons must complete "one calendar year of residence" at the new college, during which he or she is not eligible for competition. McKenzie was suspended from Vanderbilt and dismissed from its football team in June. |
| Ex-Vandy player at Alcorn State kicked off team | |
 | Former Vanderbilt player Jaborian "Tip" McKenzie, who is facing rape charges in Nashville, Tenn., has been kicked off Alcorn State's football team less than a day after his presence on the team attracted attention. Alcorn State released a statement on Thursday night from president M. Christopher Brown II saying McKenzie has been removed from the team "until further notice." "Alcorn failed to sufficiently examine the allegations against McKenzie before allowing him to participate in our football program," Brown said in the statement. Alcorn State coach Jay Hopson told The Associated Press earlier Thursday that McKenzie was playing football for the Braves because he believes the freshman is "100 percent innocent" of the charges. |
| Tailgaters swarm Aggieland days ahead of A&M-Alabama game | |
 | You can see it in the traffic, restaurants and around campus. The Tide has rolled into town. Some of the expected 90,000 visitors to Aggieland have started trickling in days before the Alabama-Texas A&M game Saturday. They're not hard to pick out, decked out in crimson gear and greeting fellow fans with "Roll tide!" Some of those fans have taken to touring the area, with the George Bush Library atop their list of attractions, along with Blue Bell Creameries and Messina Hof Winery. |
| Bear Bryant: When the Legend Left for Alabama | |
 | On Nov. 9, 1957, Frank Rose, the newly appointed president of the University of Alabama, flew from Tuscaloosa to Houston for what would become the most important alumni call in the history of college sports. The meeting changed the future of college football. That day, Texas A&M stood on top of the football mountain. A&M's coach, Paul "Bear" Bryant, was happy in College Station. President Rose desperately desired to transfer that indefinable "it" of Bear Bryant to Tuscaloosa. After a generation of greatness, the Crimson Tide, like an abandoned antebellum mansion, had fallen into a sorry state. The university reflected the dismal slide of its team. |
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